Writing support
What is writing support?
I offer two main forms of support: proofreading and editing.
They are described in more detail below.
I have experience of proofreading and editing LOTS of different documents!
No matter how large or small your document, I am happy to help you prepare it for publication.
Proofreading is generally a quicker process, because I complete the work ‘in my own time’. Here’s how it works:
1) Send me the document that you want me to work on. I am happy to work in most programmes and formats. I will reply within 24 hours to give you a quotation outlining a) when I can return your proofed work and b) an estimate for how long this work will take me. We can also confirm how you want me to alter any errors in your text (e.g. track changes, annotations, or another way of working that best suits you).
2) Proofreading is billed in 5-minute increments of £2, so it costs you £24/hour*. Lots of short documents such as social media posts may only require 5 minutes of work, whereas a larger project such as a PhD thesis may take me several hours to proofread. If I estimate that it will take me more than 60 minutes to complete your proofreading, I will ask for a 50% deposit to be paid before work begins.
3) When you have confirmed that you are happy with my estimate and completion timeline, I will begin work. I will check your document for spelling, punctuation and grammar, plus any other details that we agree on in advance.
4) I will return the altered document to you, along with an invoice for my time.
Editing is a more detailed process in which we work together in an online meeting to improve your writing. Depending on the purpose of your writing, I can help you with structuring information, developing a suitable style, explaining ideas for different audiences, and the correct use of spelling, punctuation and grammar. If your writing is for academic submission, we will review your institution’s requirements together before beginning work. Please note that I do not offer an essay-writing service.
Here’s how to arrange editing support:
1) Send me the document that you want help with, along with a brief description of the areas where you want my input (e.g., “I would like you to help me reduce this 5-page essay into 3 separate blog posts, each with an accompanying social media post”). I will reply within 24 hours to give you a quotation outlining a) an estimate for how long this work if we work together and b) my availability for online sessions and any follow-up proofreading that may be appropriate.
2) Editing is billed in 5-minute increments of £2, so it costs you £24/hour*. Please note that editing together tends to take longer than me proofreading your work independently - so the cost per document may be greater. However, working together means that I can teach you strategies to improve your writing more generally, hopefully saving you on future proofreading costs! If I estimate that it will take us more than 60 minutes to edit your work, I will ask for a 50% deposit to be paid before work begins.
3) When you have confirmed that you are happy with my estimate and completion timeline, we will schedule a live online meeting. Before this meeting, I will skim-read your document (this cost will be included in your quotation), then we can work together to address the particular issues that you have identified. Depending on the length of your document, it may be appropriate to have multiple online meetings together, or to alternate joint editing sessions with time for you to improve your writing and/or me to proofread sections of your work.
4) When we are both happy with your document, I will return it to you along with an invoice for my time.
*If you are based outside the UK, here’s a currency converter so that you can check the current exchange rate. https://www.xe.com/en-gb/currencyconverter/
Which service should you choose?
If you are not sure whether proofreading or editing is best for your project, let’s have a chat about what you want to achieve. We can also begin with a small document (such as a PowerPoint presentation rather than a PhD!), so that you can see if my way of working suits your needs.
Click on the links below to learn more about my writing support work.
